PLoS Genetics review series on the biology of aging

Posted by ouroboros under Genetics, MitochondriaComments Off on PLoS Genetics review series on the biology of aging

PLoS Genetics has initiated “a series of Review and Opinion articles bound thematically to a discrete set of topics of inherent complexity, as well as broad interest”, and I must say that their choice of first topic is most agreeable (emphasis mine):

Our inaugural series focuses on aging, a field under both rapid evolution and substantial controversy. Humans are arguably unique among sentient species in that we are cognizant of our own mortality even at moments when it is not imminent—a fact that has constituted a major force in shaping our civilization (in all its iterations). The advent of molecular biology and genetics has offered a unique opportunity to help us understand why organisms age, which in turn might offer clues as to how one might decelerate, stop, or even reverse this process. When examining the field of aging research, we can identify three major spheres: cellular aging (senescence/quiescence), organismal aging, and age-related disorders. In this series, we will focus primarily of the first two areas, because the study of age-related disorders does not necessarily inform the basic questions, namely: (a) what are the basic determinants of lifespan, and (b) what are the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms that underscore aging processes?